Crop

ARTICLES ABOUT CROP BY DATE - PAGE 5

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Farmers say they're pleased with efforts by the federal Risk Management Agency to clarify rules for prevented planting insurance in five Upper Midwest states. The insurance pays farmers if their cropland is too wet or dry to plant. They must meet certain rules to qualify, and confusion over those rules led many farmers, particularly in North Dakota, to wonder if they would qualify on land they couldn't plant last spring because of wet weather. North Dakota's congressional delegation asked the Risk Management Agency to clarify the rules, and the agency has done so starting with the 2014 crop year.

Over the last several years as the future face of U.S. farm policy has been debated, crop insurance has emerged as the best and most cost-effective risk management tool for farmers, ranchers and taxpayers. The debate over crop insurance, however, has not been confined to the halls of Congress. It has happened on the airwaves, in the newspapers, in academia and on tractors in the fields. As a public-private partnership, crop insurance is a new hybrid risk management tool whereby farmers purchase policies that are partially discounted by the federal government.

The winter wheat variety testing results is a document highly anticipated by winter wheat growers each year. The results are certainly late in 2013, due to much of the wheat not emerging or even germinating until spring, and a cool and rainy spring and summer in many parts of the state. Harvesting the variety plots was delayed as was the harvest for many producers. As of this writing, not all of the results have been compiled, nor updates to the recommended, acceptable and promising lists.

Small grain harvest is wrapping up. I have heard wheat yields ranging from 40 to 80 bu/a and many fields in that 50 to 60 bu/a range. Fall soil sampling offers some advantages in that most fields are usually drier than spring which allows a better soil sample. In addition, sampling before any tillage also gives a better sample. For many spring crops planted on these acres, it gives the producer time to plan their soil fertility program for the coming year. If planning for a non-legume crop on these acres, a two foot (0-6 and 6-24 inch)

The U.S. Drought Monitor confirmed on Thursday what farmers already knew - Northeast South Dakota is having a drought. Crops have taken a beating with temperatures in the 90s five out of the past six days in Aberdeen. "I hate to be a pessimist, but it is looking pretty bleak," said David Clark, agronomist for Wheat Growers. "It is so disappointing when the crops have good early season growth and they burn up in August. " While the wheat harvest was good in this area, corn and soybeans are hurting.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota's congressional delegation says the federal Risk Management Agency has released new rules for prevented planting insurance for the 2014 crop year. The changes come in the wake of confusion for some Upper Midwest farmers over a rule that's aimed at stopping farmers from fraudulently collecting insurance payments on land that typically can't support crops because it's constantly flooded or parched. Some farmers believed they might not be eligible for insurance payments on flooded farmland this spring because of the unclear rule.

08/20/13 - The 2013 crop continues to improve in yield potential, with the soybean crops soaring to a new record high this week at 45.13 bushels/acre in spite of a 2% decline in crop conditions (to 62% G/E). This is in sharp contrast to the ill advised USDA report, which lowered soybean yield projections to only 42.6 bushels/acre. Pro Ag yield models suggest that the chances of a yield at only 42.6 bushels/acre are less than 5%, about the same odds of a 47.7 bushel/acre yield, which would shatter previous records by a lot!

USDA's Crop Production report this month indicated a national average soybean yield of 42.6 bushels per acre. With a reduced harvested acreage estimate of 76.4 million acres, the projected soybean production for 2013 is reduced 165 million bushels to 3.255 billion. Rising export competition and a scaled back U.S. supply outlook lowered the forecast of 2013/14 soybean exports by 65 million bushels to 1.385 billion. The forecast of next season's soybean crush is also trimmed by 20 million bushels to 1.675 billion as foreign shipments of soybean meal are seen abating.

by Tom Capehart, Edward Allen, and Jennifer Bond, USDA Economic Research Service | August 23, 2013

Corn supplies for 2013/14 slip on lower forecast yields. The August 12 Crop Production report set the first survey-based yield for the 2013 crop at 154.4 bushels per acre, 2.1 bushels below last month's projection. Corn production is forecast 187 million bushels lower at 13.8 billion, still a record high. Corn beginning stocks are projected 10 million bushels lower, resulting in supplies of 14.5 billion bushels. Feed and residual is projected down 50 million bushels from last month, and exports are projected 25 million bushels lower, resulting in total projected use of 12.7 billion bushels.

Across Minnesota, small towns and farms are busy putting the culture in agriculture. Whether making colorful prints with rhubarb or turning an old creamery into a folk-arts school, they are transforming the state into a national model for using the arts to improve rural life. Fergus Falls recently won a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to be parceled out to local artists for preservation and economy-boosting projects. Another national funder, ArtPlace America, is giving tiny Lanesboro -- long known for its theater and picturesque, B&B-lined streets -- $313,000 to develop a full-fledged "arts campus" throughout the town.